Owner says main dealer should have identified turbo issue two weeks earlier when it initially inspected the vehicle

An Audi owner has expressed anger after his 2012 Audi Q5 had racked up significant repair bills in a matter of two weeks.

Speaking to Car Buyer, Alistair Griffiths of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey said: “An engine warning light came on and when I took it to local dealer Walton Audi, staff said they needed to fix something to do with the emissions.

“I had the car fully serviced at that point, too, and it all came to around £1,000, which I paid.”

However, just two weeks later the same warning light reappeared and when Alistair returned his Q5 back to the dealer, a significantly worse problem was identified.

Significantly worse

“I was told the turbo had gone, and I would need to pay £7,600 to replace it and repair the engine,” he added.

“I couldn’t believe it.”

Audi told Alistair that it would contribute 50 per cent towards the new repair bill, but Alistair believes the dealer should have identified the turbo problem two weeks earlier when he initially took the car in with the illuminated warning light.

‘Unconnected component issues’

They added: “The first involved the exhaust gas recirculation system, which was damaged by water ingress, and the second related to the turbocharger, within which an oil seal failed, causing collateral engine damage.”

“[This] would not have been evident during a routine inspection” or resulted in any warning fault codes.

“Multiple failures of this kind in a Q5 of the age of Mr Griffiths’ car are highly irregular and in no way represent the level of quality and durability that Audi aims for.”

Audi said it would refund Alistair £200 for the EGR cooler and that he wouldn’t have to pay anything towards the £7,600 engine repair bill.

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